Demon: Lore of Light

Control Light

You can control the intensity and colour of existing light. You could cause a wide-angle lantern beam to focus more tightly, like a flashlight beam, or split visible white light into its full spectrum of colours, like a prism. You can brighten weak light or weaken bright lights. Successes determine the degree to which the light can be altered.  You can control sources of light equal to Faith which are located within Faith x 2 yards. Direct sunlight is so powerful that it counts as a source for each one foot patch of light which allows you to create patterns of shadows over the ground.  The Storyteller sets the successes required to perform the desired changes though generally it costs one success to shift light by a degree (Intense -> Bright -> Well-Lit -> Cozy -> Dim -> Shadowy -> Dark -> Pitch Blackness) and one success per type (changing angle of light, splitting the prism, changing the colour).  This lasts for turns equal to successes.

Action: Instant.
Cost: None.
Dice Pool: Intelligence + Science + Light
High Torment: You can create a burst of light from an existing light source which then extinguishes the source of light for a scene.  You are not affected by this burst of light though others must roll Stamina to avoid taking a -2 penalty to all sight-related rolls for rounds equal to successes.  You may affect as many sources of light as you have Faith, though this doesn't affect the roll or impact on others, but it does allow you to extinguish additional sources of light.

Illusions

You may warp light in a manner which creates an illusionary image or hallucinatory terrain.  The former can be quite clear and defined though it lacks certain defining qualities (i.e. true shadows) which provide the target with the chance to see that it is an illusion (at which point they may see through it as though it were translucent).  OR you may affect terrain similar to a hallucination's effects, changing colours, moving patterns, and otherwise creating a shifting and mildly disturbing effect.  You couldn't use this power to turn a room into a cave but you could affect the room so that it has a claustrophobic and cave-like quality.  This lasts for turns equal to successes unless this power is simply used to create a light source where previously there were none, in which case, it lasts for one scene.
Action: Instant.
Cost: None.
Dice Pool: Intelligence + Subterfuge + Light - Composure.
High Torment: Your illusions can become threatening to those who witness them, potentially shaking them to the core.  You gain successes on this roll as additional dice to all Intimidation rolls made for the scene against those who witnessed these illusions.

Invisibility

You can bend light around yourself so that people see "through you" and your carried equipment.  You may include a number of targets equal to Faith who you must be touching you during the activation of this lore.  Items that would sensibly be considered a part of your general self (such as rifles and backpacks) are covered by this lore while incredibly unwieldy objects (such as pianos or large ammo crates) count as separate objects or entities.  This only affects the target's vision.  They can smell or hear you normally.  This lasts for one scene.
Action: Instant.
Cost: None.
Dice Pool: Intelligence + Stealth + Light - Composure.
High Torment: Although you remain invisible, your emotions colour the subtle distortions that others can subconsciously detect which causes people to become hostile and volatile toward each other in your presence.  This begins with mild irritation but over the course of a scene can sometimes lead to violence, the extent of which is determined by the personalities involved and their likelihood to resort to physical violence or even murder.

Hard Light Hologram

You can create a hardened shell from light which can be used to surround oneself OR another for a form of armour (3 / 1) which can change how others see you (i.e. what you look like) - though this can only be used to appear to be at least a slightly larger person as the shell must wrap around the body.  This power lasts for hours equal to successes.  OR the hardened shell can also be created over anything within Faith equal to rounds to hide the object.  OR it can also be used to simply surround air itself - in which case the Fallen may use their Faith + successes as points which can be spread over the hologram's Power, Finesse and Resistance stats (Size 2 - 5).  The hologram can be controlled by the Fallen reflexively and will fall into stasis when you can no longer see it to move it.  You cannot use the hard light hologram to encase another and control their movements.  OR the hologram may be turned into a +3 lethal weapon which uses Athletics, Brawl, Weaponry or Firearms to control it.
Action: Instant.
Cost: 1 Faith.
Dice Pool: Intelligence + Science + Light (versus Resolve + Blood Potency to avoid encasement).
High Torment: You can infest your hologram with a small part of your hatred and hostility which grants you (or the wearer) a +3 Initiative bonus in combat OR which provides the hardlight hologram with a modicum of consciousness, causing it to attack targets in melee independently of your awareness of its situation.  Unfortunately, unless you are there to control it, it will attack all people indiscriminately.

Multiplier

You may create a number of independent hard light holograms up to your Faith rating and, if you choose, you may reflexively become invisible at the same time (see Invisibility's entry).  These holograms may all be armed with weapons that allow them to deal +0 lethal damage in melee range.  They continue to respond for only so long as you can visually see what they are doing but while they are within view you may mentally command them as a reflexive action.  You can leave them and so long as you return within a scene (approximately one hour), they will still be there motionless unless destroyed.
Action: Instant.
Cost: None.
Dice Pool: Intelligence + Science + Light.
High Torment: Your holograms are all armed with a +3 lethal weapon and have a +2 initiative bonus.  They can act independently of your presence and can reach Size 6.

NB: This is all still quite early stages for the modification.  Please don't feel shy in pointing out any failings or balance issues.  Mistakes are for learning!

Demon: the Fallen Politics - Liege Lords

Demon: the Fallen is a political game but the actual politics aren't always so easy to figure out.  What does a demon want?  Well, just about anything.  How do they organise themselves?  Well, into factions.  And the factions organise by....  Erm?  A lot of the actual politics behind the game need to be figured out through extrapolation and some heavy thinking.

Or maybe I was just dense and needed to really sit down and think on it.

Let's look at liege lords first as a major political consideration.

All Fallen Angels will have had *at least* one liege lord, probably more.  Back in the day of the five legions, each Fallen had a superior officer all the way up to Lucifer.  Before that point, each Fallen had to answer to somebody and that somebody was probably a Namaru (First House) though that wasn't so much feudal as bureaucratic so it might not have been as memorable or important to the Fallen, especially since their old boss might have been a loyalist.  If your Fallen swapped between projects or legions, then they may have had more than one to whom they swore their unflinching loyalty.

Now your Fallen has returned to this world, they may have a few additional bosses whose needs they need to balance.  These are your superiors in your House, Faction and Ministry (if you have one).  None of them are going to want to compromise (more often than not), and all of them have their own duties to fulfil and their own needs to manage.  Due to the dutiful and obedient core nature of even the most rebellious fallen, this can cause a lot of pain when they're lower in Torment due to conflicting duties.

And don't think that your initial liege lord is willing to be forgotten in all of this.  Many Fallen adore their old lieges (or at least give them fealty) that they will sometimes even serve them when they're Earthbound due to a sense of duty and obligation.  Since there is an expectation that old liege lords can call in favours from their vassals (and that vassals can call for protection from their liege lords), this system is also self-sustaining.  Since everyone does it, and everyone expects to do it, you are going to cause a real stink if you ignore this obligation since it undermines the entire social structure that other, very important people, rely upon.

While your current superiors are expected to change occasionally, perhaps when you move cities or are re-allocated duties, your old liege lord may have been with you for a thousand years or so.  You may have even served them while in the Abyss.  This gives them a certain amount of power in how they deal with you.  Most Tyrants would allow your old liege lord to speak with you, or for you, while you are imprisoned, and a valued vassal may also be accorded the same privileges if their liege were in prison.  In fact, such a person might be granted access to you even when you wished to never see them again.

For those who have played Vampire: the Requiem, you could see within it a similar concept to the sire - childe relationship in the Invictus, only with more respect accorded to the ties and obligations inflicted upon the two of them.  Only when your master remains in the Abyss can you safely ignore them and, even then, you may run into some serious trouble if they have other vassals who listen to them.

Luckily most liege lords and vassals are either happy enough to enjoy their lives independently or simply can't remember their old relationships.  Often times, one or the other still remain in the Abyss.

Can you swear to a new liege lord?

I'd say so, though the old ties would still have some potency to them.  It also wouldn't be as simple as being allocated to a new Fallen supervisor in your Faction, House, or Ministry.  You'd need to evidence real commitment and devotion and there'd also likely be some ceremony as well.  Demons, especially devils, should be really big into ceremony since they're primary resource (Faith) can be increased by it.  They'd have a lot of traditions involving drawing as much Faith from their followers as possible and much of that pomp and ceremony likely continues to this day.

Anywho, those are my thoughts.  How do you think the old liege lord - vassal system would work in today's Demon: the Fallen societies?

Demon: Lore of Radiance

Authoritative Voice

Create an aura of authority which add activation successes to any die rolls to impress, intimidate or command a number of targets equal to faith in a single scene.
Action: Instant.
Cost: None.
Dice Pool: Presence + Persuasion + Radiance (versus Composure + Faith for the High Torment version).
High Torment: Your authoritative aura threatens and unnerves your targets and inflicts a -2 penalty to Composure rolls as well as allowing you to add activation successes to die rolls to impress, intimidate or command a number of targets equal to faith in a single scene.

Exalt

You can give a number of individuals equal to Faith a bonus dice pool equal to your successes which they may allocate on a one for one basis to any non-magical dice pools in a single scene.
Action: Instant.
Cost: None.
Dice Pool: Presence + Expression + Radiance versus Composure + Faith (if contested).
High Torment: You inflict a penalty equal to successes to the next non-magical dice roll against a single target.

Voice of Heaven

All within Faith in yards or a single within 10 yards x faith must obey a single 10-second command whose resulting action can last for up to a single scene.  If this would cause a degeneration check or put themselves in mortal danger, the targets gains an additional resistance roll.
Action: Instant.
Cost: None.
Dice Pool: Presence + Persuasion + Radiance versus Composure + Faith.
High Torment: Once the target has obeyed the instruction they automatically lose a willpower point.

Liege

You can several targets (equal to Faith) who are standing within yards equal to Faith of you to become your loyal servants.  They will do anything to please you, even if it would put themselves in mortal danger or cause them to suffer a degeneration check. This lasts for a single scene.
Action: Instant.
Cost: 1 Faith.
Dice Pool: Presence + Intimidation + Radiance versus Composure + Faith.
High Torment: Your desperate need for control over others allows you to extend the duration to a single day.

Revelations

Reveal the truth of a human to themselves.  They (and you) learn their virtue, vice, Faith rating, Morality and derangements through a series of pivotal memories experienced by both.  At the end, you may choose to 'tweak' their personality and change one of these factors by inflicting an epiphany.  In other words, you can forcefully increase or decrease their Faith Rating or Morality; remove or inflict a derangement; or alter their vice or virtue.  This can only be done once per year per target.
Action: Instant.
Cost: 1 Faith.
Dice Pool: Wits + Empathy + Radiance versus Composure + Faith (if contested).
High Torment: In addition to the listed powers, the character gains the Vice Ridden merit whereby they have two vices.  This lasts for at least one year.

Demon: Lore of Flame

Ignite

You can create a flame of up to Size 1 anywhere you can touch which lasts for a scene or until doused which need consume no fuel (though it can).  This flame will not burn you or anyone else and can be extinguished with a thought unless placed on a flammable substance (in other words, you cannot use it to attack others with it).  If created onto a flammable substance, it burns at the intensity expected from that substance and can rapidly go out of control - unless you have a higher rating to control it (Size 1 is approximately the size of a crow).
Action: Instant.
Cost: None.
Dice Pool: Presence + Science + Flame.
High Torment: Your own rage provides the flame with Intensity 1 and though it cannot burn you, it can shroud one of your hands, allowing you to have a +2 lethal brawl attack for the rest of the scene or until you concentrate to extinguish it.

Command The Spark

You can control a piece of flame up to Size 1 which becomes Intensity 1.  This flame moves up to Faith + successes in yards per turn.  It can be wielded against a living or mobile target with a successful Dexterity + Athletics roll versus defence to automatically deal 2 lethal damage to living or mobile targets.  This can also be used to extinguish Size 4 worth of flames per turn.
Action: Instant.
Cost: None.
Dice Pool: Wits + Science + Flame.
High Torment: Your rage allows you to move the flame with greater speed and adroitness and thus can also use it to set fire to people or object's clothing.  Refer to the Fire rules in your relevant core rulebook (World of Darkness, Blood & Smoke).

Gout of Flame

You can use this as a ranged attack with a distance equal to Faith in yards which deals damage equal to successes plus an additional 2 damage the following round.  This might manifest as either a gout of literal flame or a sensation of heat and smoke internally - which often leads to smoke leaking out of the nose and throat.  You can only douse supernatural fire controlled by another Fallen through a contested roll.
Action: Instant.
Cost: None.
Dice Pool: Presence + Science + Flame - Defence.
High Torment: Create a homunculi that exists only to burn.  It persists for rounds equal to Faith, Size equal to Faith and has a dice pool equal to successes plus level in this lore with a +2 weapon bonus due to intensity.  It can make independent attacks and may cause others to spend their time trying to deal with the homunculi rather than you.

Shield of Flame

You may totally ignore the harmful effects of natural fire and heat and add your Faith to your Armor rating against supernatural fire and heat.  Any who strike you automatically take 1 lethal if they attack you with brawl while you may automatically ignite any flammable material (other than clothing or other worn objects) with a touch.  This lasts for a scene.
Action: Instant.
Cost: 1 Faith.
Dice Pool: Presence + Science + Flame
High Torment: You may apply a burning shroud to a target which reduces perception and defence by successes for a scene and inflicts a -1 wound penalty to all other rolls.  This lasts for a scene.

Holocaust

You may douse all flame within yards equal to Faith for a scene as a moving aura (centered on you) with a clash of wills for supernatural fire OR you can become imbued with flame which provides visual penalties to those witnessing you equal to successes (which affects combat rolls) and gain said successes to defence and initiative for turns equal to successes OR you can use Gout of Flame twice in a single turn.  Only one of these effects can be active at any one time.  You can only douse supernatural fire controlled by another Fallen through a contested roll.
Action: Instant.
Cost: 1 Faith.
Dice Pool: Wits + Science + Flame.
High Torment: You can activate the second option to become imbued with flame for a scene and simultaneously either douse all flame in the local area for a single turn or use Gout of Flame twice in a single turn.

Demon: Lore of Celestials

Faith Sight

You can see faith reserves, or signatures, in humans, Fallen, relics and certain magical tools or locations that rely on Faith.  This would include most powers which require the expenditure of a willpower point (i.e. Benedictions and Castigations as well as Psychic Powers and Ritual Magic from Second Sight).  This sight works within a radius of Faith + successes in yards and is irrespective of any barrier between you.  This lasts for one scene.
Action: Instant.
Cost: None.

Dice Pool: Wits + Occult + Celestials. 

High Torment: Your thirst for Faith sharpens your senses and allows you to see more detail in these Faith signatures, such as the shapes of objects or a person's physical movements.  Thus you could see if two people standing on the other side of the wall were talking animatedly (via their gestures) or flanking a door with their arms in a position which indicates they are holding machine guns.

Shroud Faith

You can reduce the psychic visibility of your rituals, revelatory forms and other magic performed within a radius of yards equal to Faith which is centred on you.  In other words, those attempting to notice such magic using Mage Sight, Fallen Awareness, etc. have their dice rolls penalised by your successes for the rest of the scene.  Alternatively you can entirely shroud a lore use / relic activation by spending one Faith as you activate that lore.  You cannot entirely shroud the use of a revelatory form or a ritual and can only penalise those looking for it.
Dice Pool: Wits + Stealth + Celestials.
Cost: None (1 Faith to utterly shroud a lore use).

Action: Instant / Reflexive with one Faith.

High Torment: Your subtlety is warped in favour of an outright lie as you change your lore / ritual signature to make it appear to be an entirely different lore / ritual or trick those who fail to detect your revelatory form by making them sense a different House in your stead.  This version of the power only affects your own lore uses, rituals and revelatory form -- no one else's.

Visionary Link

You can forge a telepathic link between Fallen and / or mortals allowing you to impart images at whim, though you cannot transmit sound.  This link must be forged through skin contact when cast and it may affect up to Faith in individuals.  It lasts for one scene.  This link allows those so connected to use the Fallen's mind as a hub, projecting images back to the Fallen - who may then share them on - just as the central Fallen may project the images they please as well.  These images do not prevent other actions nor penalise other actions during the turns those images occur.
Action: Instant to cast and reflexive for later uses.
Cost: None.

Dice Pool: Presence + Expression + Celestials vs Resolve + Power Stat (if resisted). 

High Torment: These images are of such emotive complexity due to the raw force of the Fallen's passions that they can cloud the mind.  It requires one roll to "set" the power upon an individual and, once set, the Fallen may spend a turn to send a flood of emotive images to provide the target with a -2 penalty and change their emotion with a subsequent Presence + Expression roll.  This version of the lore is always an instant action.

Deny / Bolster Faith

You can deny an opponent's power through a clash of wills as you work your Faith against their source of power (whether vitae-driven, arcana-based or equally Faithful).  You may even pre-cast this clash so that it is activated the next time a power is directed at you within the next 24 hours.  Alternatively activation successes on this roll can be added to another creature's dice pools which can again be pre-cast on them.  You must be within Faith in yards x 10 of the caster whose power you intend to counter or within Faith in yards of the caster whose power you intend to bolster.
Action: Instant.
Cost: 1 Faith.
Dice Pool: Presence + Expression + Celestials vs their power's dice pool.
High Torment: Your pride lashes out at those who cast their spells in your presence.  Regardless of whether they are successful or not, they take your successes in bashing damage alongside the normal effects of the power.

Pillar of Redirection

You can specify a single target whose powers you may reflexively attempt to deny each turn for rounds equal to your Faith, regardless of whether that target's powers are used against you or simply someone within a radius of Faith in yards from you.
Action: Instant.
Cost: 1 Faith.
Dice Pool: Wits + Expression + Celestials vs their power's dice pool.
High Torment: Your pride lashes out at those who cast their spells in your presence.  Regardless of whether they are successful or not, they take half your successes in lethal damage.

Musing on Masks: The Great Hard Drive Fail

Well, I installed Elder Scrolls Online and everything else on the hard drive is utterly destroyed.  Or rather, missing.  All of the files.  Luckily I still have copies of all of the audio files on the voice recorder but it will take me a bit of time to clean up the silences.  Sorry about that.  Should have one up for you next week.

Also, I don't think that Elder Scrolls Online gobbled up everything else but it is suspicious that it happened at around the same time....

Or maybe the hard drive's periodic fails wiped it before we did the install.

Who knows?

Computers are sometimes magical.

Demon: the Fallen Rules Modification

I love this game...

I'm one of those people who loves Demon: the Fallen and the complicated, sometimes lovable, sometimes terribly evil, player characters you can build from it.  How many games make you create three characters to make one?  You need to design your Fallen Angel and the Human Host and then figure out how the merging of the angel's selfhood with the human's mind, memories and meatsack would combine to create a brand new creature.  Then if your host body gets wrecked, you then get to take your Fallen Angel, design a new Human Host, see how those two would merge, and then see how that plays havoc on all of your existing relationships.

There's a lot there in just "being" someone, and I absolutely adore that.

The only trouble is that the lores were a bit, well, rushed.  And they have some of that old World of Darkness need of house rules.  Don't get me wrong.  I loved the old World of Darkness.  But it did so often need house ruling.

So I've house ruled it and house ruled it and house ruled it, until recently, when my husband and I decided to go back to basics and give it a great big re-design from the bottom up using the core principles of each lore and some of the best powers as a guiding point.  And yes, this version of house rules does give each lore a bit of a power boost, similar to the new vampire rules in God Machine.  Also, these rules are compatible with New World of Darkness rather than oWoD but it shouldn't be too hard to change the stat lines if you so choose.

So on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays each week I will release one of the rule sets:

Defiler: Storms, Longing, Transfiguration.
Devil: Flame, Radiance, Celestials.
Devourer: Beasts, Flesh, Wilds.
Fiends: Light, Patterns, Portals.
Malefactor: Earth, Forge, Path.
Scourge: Awakening, Firmament, Wind.
Slayer: Death, Ghosts*, Realms.

Common: Frequency, Humanity, Fundament

*I've renamed Spirits as Ghosts because the Hisil is such a core part of the nWoD gameworld, even if the creature types don't necessarily know it, and so I've changed the name for clarity's sake.